Nurses at Quincy (Mass.) Medical Center have voted to authorize a one-day strike if Boston-based Steward Health Care does not negotiate what nurses have called insufficient staffing, according to a Patriot Ledger report.
This week, nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association voted 200-13 to authorize their bargaining committee to call a one-day strike. A deadline for the possible strike has not yet been established, according to the report.
Steward bought Quincy in 2011. It recently decided to close the hospital's inpatient surgical unit, and the nurses association claims related layoffs of about 30 registered nurses have affected patient care. In the report, nurses said they hope the vote to authorize a strike will serve as a wake-up call for hospital management.
In a letter to employees, Quincy President Daniel Knell wrote that the "temporary closure has had zero impact on our emergency department or our ability to admit patients," according to the report. He also said the surgical unit's closure and related layoffs were necessary for Quincy's financial survival, according to the report.
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This week, nurses represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association voted 200-13 to authorize their bargaining committee to call a one-day strike. A deadline for the possible strike has not yet been established, according to the report.
Steward bought Quincy in 2011. It recently decided to close the hospital's inpatient surgical unit, and the nurses association claims related layoffs of about 30 registered nurses have affected patient care. In the report, nurses said they hope the vote to authorize a strike will serve as a wake-up call for hospital management.
In a letter to employees, Quincy President Daniel Knell wrote that the "temporary closure has had zero impact on our emergency department or our ability to admit patients," according to the report. He also said the surgical unit's closure and related layoffs were necessary for Quincy's financial survival, according to the report.
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